A prominent New York rabbi has sharply criticized Australia for its “inaction” following a tragic mass shooting that disrupted a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach, leaving 40 injured and at least 15 dead, including two well-known rabbis.

Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky, representing the Chabad-Lubavitch World Headquarters in New York City, expressed that the violent act perpetrated by a father and son duo highlights an increasing wave of antisemitism in Australia, which authorities have not adequately addressed.

“In addition to Rabbi Eli Schlanger, we’ve received the heartbreaking news that Chabad Rabbi Yaakov Levitan has also passed away from his injuries. May his memory be a blessing,” Rabbi Krinsky revealed to Fox News Digital.

“The global Jewish community is currently on edge, yet they remain steadfast,” he stated. “Every instance of antisemitic rhetoric that is ignored sets the stage for such deadly outcomes, and this pattern must be stopped immediately.”

Law enforcement officials have secured an area at Bondi Beach following the terrorist attack during a Hanukkah event in Sydney, Australia, on December 14, 2025. (Mark Baker/AP Photo)

“Australian authorities need to act with alacrity and stamp out both the acts and the rhetoric that normalize antisemitism,” Krinsky added.

The tragic mass shooting Dec. 14 came when two gunmen opened fire on a large “Chanukah by the Sea” event near Campbell Parade at Bondi Beach.

The attack, reportedly being investigated as a terrorist incident by police, included improvised explosive devices found in one suspect’s vehicle, as previously reported by Fox News Digital.

A member of the Jewish community reacts as he walks with police toward the scene of a shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney on Dec. 14, 2025. (David Gray/AFP via Getty Images)

The elder assailant was killed at the scene and his son was taken into custody in critical condition.

Krinsky, who was also in Melbourne in July when a synagogue arson attack took place at the East Melbourne Synagogue, said he had already seen the “unease” in Australia growing firsthand.

“I witnessed firsthand the unease and concern felt by many within the Australian Jewish community amid the rise in antisemitic incitement, and their sense that the response from the authorities was inadequate, he said.

Rabbi Dovid Gutnick walks past damage to the exterior of the East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation in Melbourne, Saturday, July 5, 2025, after an arsonist set fire to the door. (James Ross/AAP Image via AP)

“At that point, there was a feeling that the Jewish community in Australia has been increasingly uneasy with what they feel is the lack of a strong enough response to these acts.”

Schlanger, 41, who was one of the first deceased victims to be identified, was assistant rabbi at Chabad of Bondi and an organizer of the beach event.

Emergency workers transport a person on a stretcher after a reported shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (Mark Baker/AP Photo)

“While each Chabad center operates independently, they function under our global umbrella organization,” Krinsky clarified. “There are no words to underscore the anguish and heartbreak caused by this gut-wrenching tragedy.” 

“Rabbi Schlanger was among the victims of this barbarism,” he added. “He had deep ties to the United States and studied here, he has family here and although the attack took place far away, this Hanukkah we feel him closer than ever.”

“He was younger than I am, and we attended the same institutions, though at different times,” Krinsky noted. “He dedicated his life to living in communities around the world, far away from home, inspired by the Rebbe’s teachings and vision.

Armed police work at the scene after a shooting incident at Bondi Beach in Sydney on December 14, 2025. Australian police said two people were in custody following reports of multiple gunshots on December 14 at Sydney’s famed Bondi Beach, urging the public to take shelter. (David Gray/AFP via Getty Images)

Schlanger, born in the U.K., married Chaya, the daughter of prominent Australian Rabbi Yehoram Ulman.

“Following their marriage, some 18 years ago, they moved to Sydney to help grow the community and bring the beauty and spirit of the Jewish tradition to life for many in the Sydney Jewish community,” Krinsky explained. “He would have found some place to move to go about the work that he had he wanted to dedicate his life to.”

As the world responded, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the attack as an “act of pure evil,” according to The Associated Press.

“We are crushed for the families who were celebrating the Festival of Light on Bondi Beach,” Krinsky said.

A health worker moves a stretcher after a shooting incident at Bondi Beach in Sydney on December 14, 2025. Australian police said two people were in custody following reports of multiple gunshots on December 14 at Sydney’s famed Bondi Beach, urging the public to take shelter. (Saeed Khan/AFP via Getty Images)

“But every Chabad community worldwide is already doing what we do best: spreading more light, strengthening Jewish pride and observance, and increasing acts of goodness and kindness.”

“The perpetrator may have wanted to dim the Hanukkah lights in Sydney – but they will burn even brighter across Australia and around the globe.”

A statement released by Chabad Lubavitch Headquarters in New York said, “Let us be clear: this was a treacherous act of terror – an attack on the community, on goodness, and on light itself. It reflects a climate in which Jew hatred has been allowed to grow and to turn violent. That reality must be confronted.” 

“We will honor the lives taken by enhancing Jewish practice, pride and visibility. May their light rise from this sorrow, and their memory be a blessing to us all,” the statement read.